Zech McPhearson stood there knowing he would be beaten.
And then he was beaten.
However, he made a crucial heads-up play on Sunday to recover an onside kick for the Lions. This play may have saved the Eagles game.
They attempted an onside kick after the Lions came close to 31-21 midway through the third quarter.
It wasn’t a great kick. Lions kicker Austin Seibert kicked it to McPherson, the Eagles’ second-year backup cornerback.
If MacPherson seemed to know what was coming, it was because he knew.
Dave Phipp, the Lions special teams coach who won the Super Bowl with the Eagles in 2017, was known for his trickery, and the Eagles knew anything was possible.
Both McPherson and Patrick Johnson, also a second-year professional player, detected a tell on Saibert’s side indicating an onside kick.
So McPherson was ready.
Eagles special teams coach Michael Clay, who worked under Phipp here in 2015, said, “It’s going to be a full offseason against opponents who know they can pull off some tricks here and there. Sometimes it’s always great.
“I could have told everyone to watch out for the onside kicks until they were blue in the face, but kudos to Zech for staying disciplined, staying there during the match, and not panicking.” remained there.
“I was wary that he stayed there and had different paces depending on the kicker. So kudos to them for being so into it.”
McPherson recovered near midfield and quickly got down to the ground to protect himself and the football.
After six plays, the Boston Scott scored and the Eagles were up 38-21 heading for a 38-35 Day One victory.
The Lions had momentum at that point. It’s easy to imagine the end result being different.
McPhearson was rewarded for Wednesday’s heads-up play by being named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He is the first Eagles cornerback since Allen Rossum returned in 1999.
Clay was impressed not only by his mental acumen in anticipating McPherson’s onside kick, but also by his fearlessness in knowing he was about to be hit and facing it.
“It’s a guy looking at the ball. He’s not afraid of two unblocked guys coming at him,” he said. “Detroit is a very physical team. It was a pretty impressive play.
McPherson is the Eagles’ third outside cornerback and showed 179 snaps as a rookie last year, showing promise as a d-back. But he knows that as long as Darius Slay and James Bradbury are healthy, his main role will be in the special team.
And on Sunday he made a big contribution.
“Zech did a great job in learning, understanding and being the leader of the entire special team from year one to two,” Clay said. “He also had two tackles as a gunner.
“He’s progressed by leaps and bounds and we’re going to rely on him. He’s just going to keep getting better and better. He was just upstairs [special teams quality control coach] Tyler Brown is taking the championship bit by bit as he prepares for Minnesota. “
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